Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sought the help of a prominent community activist Saturday in an effort to spread her social distancing message — particularly young people.
Despite continuous pleas from Lightfoot and the Chicago Police Department, large gatherings are still happening, especially on weekends and in nice weather, city officials said.
The mayor addressed the troubling trend in a Facebook live discussion with Ja'Mal Green, the founder of the non-profit organization "My Block My Hood My City."
According to Chicago police, as of Saturday, officers have had to ask people to break up large groups more than 7,000 times. In all, 38 people have received citations and 19 have been arrested.
Mayor Lightfoot said the number of cases is "still to high" to let their guard down.
"...We are looking at the data, but because people aren’t staying at home as much as they were, but we are seeing an increase in the amount of cases," he said.
However, the mayor said she does see a world this summer where "music can happen in neighborhoods and people can be out." However, she stated that Chicago will only get to that point if residents obey the stay-at-home order.
